For Soupman, consistency and innovation are key to win more customers

Former athlete and serial entrepreneur Shaquille O'Neal is a partner of Soupman, Inc.

Photo by Neilson Barnard

Peter Drucker, one the world’s most revered business management gurus, once said, “Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service.” Soupman, Inc. (OTCQB: SOUP), maker of The Original Soupman, appeared to have heeded the advice, and it remained to be one of the top-selling soup companies globally.

Early this month, Soupman deep dived again into product innovation in preparation of its participation at the recently concluded FMI Connect 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. The company announced that it has reformulated its lentil soup flavor to “a new gold standard” transforming it to an all-natural and gluten-free offering. The company also said that it would be launching three new flavors in Tetra Pak packaging namely Chicken Gumbo, Crab Corn Chowder and Jam-ba LAYA.

Suley Muratoglu, Tetra Pak's vice president of Marketing and Product Management, enthused about Soupman’s new product releases. Soupman partnered with Tetra Pak in March to make its soups available in retortable Tetra Recart carton. The carton is capable of maintaining the overall quality and freshness of Soupman’s soups for up to 24 months.

"We are excited to see the great success of the Original Soupman ready-to-serve soups and its recent addition of new flavors. And it is great to know that our Tetra Pak cartons, thanks to their smart design and environmental and protection profile are helping this product line score high with savvy consumers all over the country," Suley Muratoglu, Tetra Pak's vice president of Marketing and Product Management, said in a news release.

But with or without FMI, Soupman has always been keen on creating new and exciting formulations, even back in the days when it was just operating as a small New York eatery. The company recognizes the importance of tailoring its soup flavors to market demand, as more of its consumers lean towards the organic food trend as well as gourmet or niche food. It makes an effort to reach out to customers. After all, why wait—the adage, “if you build it they will come” is not true in most cases and Soupman is not one for waiting.

Apart from this, the company has a knack for reinventing itself and its branding to keep up with the changing times. The company changed its packaging and logos for quite a number of times to maintain its brand appeal. This year, it enlisted the help of an award-winning creative powerhouse to revamp the design of its soup packaging.

For those interested of Soupman, Inc.’s franchising and investment opportunities, the company has began offering a new restaurant and food truck franchising model. The restaurant model is called Al’s Famous New York Delicatessen and Restaurant – and some franchise locations have already been set up in Mohegan Suns casinos. Soupman’s food truck model, SoupMobile, will be offered under a joint venture with current partner and strategic advisor Shaquille O’Neal.

According to the company, the first batch of SoupMobile’s franchises is located in New Jersey. The company added the food truck will be soon be coming to New York residents as well.

Soupman’s stocks closed at 0.30 on Friday. That day, the company traded at a volume of 87,653 above its average volume of 48,963.